Roast Duck with Paleo Plum Tumeric Sauce

Have you ever seen turmeric in it’s original form? I hadn’t actually thought about what it looked like in it’s un-processed form. Previously I had bought turmeric that had already had “work done”: powdered and packaged. I was interested to find it at the local health food market in its glorious original packaging. It feels like ginger (tuberous roots) but looks a little like fat meal worms. It smells great.

My deep freeze is full, and I was assessing what I could eat to make room for the fall harvest. A whole duck was taking up space. I pulled it out along with a brine and started thinking about a sauce. I will spare you the details, but I came to some fresh plums and turmeric for the delicious roast duck.

Yes, those are potatoes on the plate with my roasted duck in paleo plum turmeric sauce, please don’t call the paleo police on me. There were a few purple potatoes as well. You, of course, can substitute any one of a number other paleo approved veggies.

Remove organs, if any are included. (These can be kept for duck stock)

Rough up the rosemary to release the oils (I used a rolling pin) until you can smell the rosemary explosion.

Combine olive oil with orange juice, rosemary, and salt in a Ziplock freezer bag large enough to hold the duck.

Shake it up a bit and then add the duck. Squeeze out extra air, seal bag, and put in fridge for 1.5-2.5 hours.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 325 F. In a roasting pan, line the bottom with the sprigs of rosemary from the brine, and place duck on top, breast up.

Use a meat thermometer (make sure it's an oven-safe one, not a digital one that you have to keep reaching in to use. That's just a pain). This will save you from guessing if our bird is done - duck is just too good to mess up. Internal temperature should be 165 F. This should take around 60-80 minutes (depending on your bird) - until the skin is brown and crispy.

If you need to brown up the skin a little more, use the broiler, but for the love of everything good, do not forget about it and burn the skin! If you're busy with side dishes, set a time for every few minutes to check on it. Seriously.

About Holley

Real food fan. My first love is baking, and it keeps me sane. I am new to the Paleo lifestyle, but already infatuated. Recovering sugar Junkie. Love awkward situations, drunk people and ridiculously high heeled shoes, especially when they coincide. Always looking for my next great story.

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